The Polish Pilots Who Fought for Britain
People Who Made History
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5m 52s
In the summer of 1940 Britain fought a battle for survival against the might of Hitler’s Luftwaffe. This Battle of Britain would see German air attacks on British airfields, cities, factories and docks. Brave RAF pilots intercepted these raids, but Britain was not alone. Among the RAF and Allied fighter pilots who flew that summer were 145 Poles, veteran pilots who were forced to escape their country as it was crushed between the jaws of a Nazi-Soviet attack in 1939. This short documentary explores the vital Polish contribution to the Allied effort during the Battle of Britain.
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